Fernando Alonso - 2005, 2006 Fernando Alonso Share The 28th Formula One World Drivers' Champion was at the time the youngest ever. Just 24 years old, Fernando Alonso also led the Renault team to the 2005 Constructors' Championship, thus ending the reign of the Michael Schumacher-Ferrari combination that had dominated for so long. The precocious and personable youngster who made so much history so soon comfortably wore the crown - a bright, polished, perfectly poised new star. Confirmation of his brilliance came in 2006 when he successfully defended his title against strong opposition from Schumacher, whose subsequent retirement left Alonso well-placed to succeed him as Formula One's resident superstar... Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 4 Hungaroring, August 2001: Fernando Alonso’s best result in his first Formula One season was a tenth place in Germany. Here at the Hungarian Grand Prix he retired with brake problems. © Sutton Images Jerez, December 1999: After winning that year’s Euro-Open Movistar series, Fernando Alonso earned an early Formula One test with Minardi, the team that would later give him his Grand Prix debut.

© Sutton Images Spa, August 2000: Fernando Alonso completed his first (and last) season of Formula 3000 in style by winning the final round at Belgium’s legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit. © Sutton Images Melbourne, March 2001: Fernando Alonso with new Minardi team mate Tarso Marques after his Formula One debut in Australia. He finished the race in 12th place. © Sutton Images 2nd-4th March 2001 This is a digital file. Info Close Fernando Alonso Diaz (his full name includes his mother's maiden name, according to the Spanish custom) was born on 29 July, 1981, in Oviedo, a city in the Asturias region of northern Spain, where his mother worked in a department store and his father was employed in the mining industry as an explosive expert. The Alonsos and their two children lived comfortably but were by no means a wealthy family. Luis Alonso, a keen amateur kart racer, wished to share his passion with his children and built them a pedal kart in the form of a realistic-looking miniature F1 car.

It was originally intended for eight-year-old Lorena but she soon grew tired of it, whereupon her three-year-old brother eagerly climbed into the tiny cockpit and immediately felt at home. From the beginning little Fernando was not content to simply pedal around. He wanted to compete and to win. Shortly after his seventh birthday he entered his first proper kart race and won, and before he was ten Fernando Alonso's name was engraved on several kart championship trophies. However, further progress would require more funding than his family's limited resources could provide. While his parents fully supported their son's increasingly successful pastime - with his father acting as his mechanic at the races and his mother making sure he also got good marks at school - Fernando knew the only way forward was to get sponsored drives by winning races - which he continued to do. Age proved to be no barrier - he was invariably the youngest driver in every category, and more often than not, the best. By his mid-teens his collection of kart titles included a world championship.

Onward and upward he sped, easily winning a 1999 Spanish-based championship for single seater racing cars, parlaying his prize of a tryout in a Minardi Formula One car into a drive in 2000 with a Minardi-backed F3000 team and a testing contract with Minardi's Formula One team, in which he made an impressive debut the following season. His obvious potential prompted Renault (formerly Benetton) to sign him as a test driver for 2002, a valuable experience that would enable him to immediately establish himself as a frontrunner when he joined the French automaker's team in 2003. In Malaysia, only his second race for Renault, the 21-year-old became the youngest ever pole winner. Starting from pole again in Hungary, less than a month after his 22nd birthday, he became the youngest Grand Prix winner in history. In 2004 the difficult-to-drive Renault R24 kept him out of the winner's circle and he finished fourth in the championship.

By now, having slotted seamlessly into the team, further polished his driving skills and honed his racecraft, Alonso was ready to take full advantage of Renault's excellent R25 car, in which he would really come of age. From the beginning of the 2005 season the man to beat was the upstart Spaniard. Equipment variances were a factor, with Michael Schumacher's Ferrari off the pace for the first time in six years and Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren Mercedes proving to be fast but fragile. Meanwhile, the Alonso-driven Renault swept serenely through the longest ever Formula One season, scoring points in all but two of the 19 races, finishing in the top three 14 times and winning on seven occasions. Info Close Alonso's nearly flawless performance (his only driving error came in Canada where he crashed while leading) was highlighted by a symbolic defeat of Schumacher at Imola, where he brilliantly fended off the best efforts of the seven-time champion. Schumacher's successor knew when to attack, how to defend, how to control a race - how to win the championship in a car that was usually not as fast as Raikkonen's McLaren.

Both drivers had six poles and seven wins, and though the raw racer Raikkonen's challenge was undermined by mechanical misfortune, Alonso's adaptability served him best. His aptitude for adjusting quickly to changing circumstances, his competence at conserving his equipment, his capability of responding immediately to the invariably wise tactical instructions issued by the Renault team, all contributed to his success. "I'm just a normal guy," insisted Alonso, whose swift ascendancy to superstardom left him somewhat embarrassed. Softly spoken, though fluent and articulate in English, his second language, he eschewed the usual trappings of success, choosing to live quietly in Oxford to be near the British-based Renault team that was totally devoted to their boy wonder. "My record is going to be in good hands," said Emerson Fittipaldi, who won the 1972 championship when he was 25. In his 25th year Alonso held onto his title even more firmly, securing second successive championships for himself and Renault after an epic duel with a resurgent Michael Schumacher.

Faced with a formidable opponent still at the peak of his powers, the cleverly quick Alonso's focus never wavered in the intensity of battle - the scenario that most appealed to his real racer's instincts. Fiercely determined and eagerly aggressive, he relished the cut and thrust, revelled in the thrill of the chase - all the while remaining supernaturally calm with a maturity that belied his youth and would serve him well in defending his title against the sport's most successful exponent. Alonso began 2006 with a string of wins and podiums that by mid-season gave him a substantial lead over Schumacher, whose faltering Ferrari was subsequently improved to overcome Renault's initial performance advantage. Thus empowered, the German staged a brilliant comeback that made the Spaniard's eventual title triumph all the more memorable. The fact that they were so evenly matched, with seven wins each, substantiated Alonso's status as a worthy successor to the retiring Schumacher. Info Close In pursuit of a new challenge Alonso left Renault at the end of the year and moved to McLaren, where a fractious relationship with the team and Lewis Hamilton ended with the Spaniard returning to Renault for two more seasons where inferior equipment restricted his results.

In 2010 he realised every driver's dream when he was hired to become team leader at Ferrari where he immediately resumed his winning ways (he won five races) and finished second in the championship. In 2011 Ferrari's fluctuating fortunes restricted him to a single victory and fourth in the standings. In an epic 2012 season he came within three points of winning the driving title for a third time, an achievement that ultimately went to his title rival Sebastian Vettel. But Fernando Alonso distinguished himself in what he called "my best ever season" by consistently flogging his far from fastest Ferrari for all it was worth, and more. His championship challenge was the product of a fighting spirit, clever racecraft and mistake-free driving that never waned. His 2013 season was equally impressive, when he was again second overall in a year of even greater domination by Vettel. Flattering a Ferrari that was never more than the third best car (which is where the team finished), Alonso won twice, was second five times, consistently collected high points and failed to score in only two races.

In 2014 his car’s serious limitations left the proud Spaniard winless for the first time in his five years with an increasingly floundering Ferrari team. Yet his reputation as the best of the current drivers remained intact as did his determination to demonstrate his superiority by winning another championship. In pursuit of this goal Alonso chose to disregard their previously acrimonious relationship and rejoin a similarly ambitious McLaren team, for whom 2014 was only their second winless season since 1980. For 2015 McLaren announced it was ‘laying the foundations for future domination’ by renewing a formerly all-powerful alliance with engine supplier Honda and appointing a new team leader in superstar Fernando Alonso. His 13th year in Formula One was the worst by far for the two-time world champion, whose 2015 McLaren-Honda was embarrassingly uncompetitive. Alonso was classified 17th in the drivers’ standings, while his team finished ninth among the ten entrants. Unreliable in the extreme, hopelessly slow when it ran, his car’s consistently poor performance provoked an increasingly frustrated Alonso, whose public criticism of his employer contravened the adage that a team loses and wins together.

The Spanish charger’s 2016 season (his 14th in the sport) began with a massive accident in Australia, after which he endured yet another year of inferior McLaren-Honda equipment. Flattering his car by far, he finished 10th overall in the standings. While he occasionally complained publicly, his warrior mentality never faltered, nor did his reputation suffer as he raced as hard as ever in a losing cause. Text - Gerald Donaldson Most Successful Formula 1 Drivers Of All Times Most Successful Formula 1 Drivers November 10, 2015 By totalsportek2 1 Comment As we move into 2015 Formula 1 season’s last few races Lewis Hamilton is favourite to win his third world title which will put him 5th on the all time table alongside Jack Brabham, Aryton Senna, Jackie Stewart, Nicky Luada and Nelson Piquet while only four drivers has won more than three world titles with Michael Schumacher first on the all time list with 7 world titles, Argentinian Juan Manuel Fangio has won 5 while Alan Prost and Sebastian Vettel both have 4 titles each.

So where do Lewis Hamilton rank in terms of greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time ? Well lets assume he will win his third title this year and recently signed a contract extension with Mercedez and he is only 30 year old so have enough time to potentially add a couple more titles which will elevate him right up there with the very best. But for now he alongside, Fernando Alonso and Vettel are the only current drivers who can make it to the top 10 list of greatest F1 drivers of all times. We take a look at some of the greatest F1 drivers in history but first let see who won the most world titles in Formula 1. DRIVERS WITH MOST FORMULA 1 TITLES NO# 14 But Who Was The Greatest ? The above statistics dont do justice for some of the achievment made by the drivers throughout the F1 history. Statistically speaking Michael Schumacher comes out on top with 7 world titles including 5 consecutive with Ferrari and 2 with Benetton-Ford but Aryton Senna had a such an impact on the sport that many believe he was the not only the most talented but also the greatest Formula 1 driver of all times.

Lets run through the list and briefly some great names in Formula 1. NO# 1. Juan Manuel Fangio The greatest not only in terms of statistics but also the impact on the F1 history, Fangio was so talented he made driving an art. His victory in the 1957 German Grand Prix was the prime example of him not only being a champion but a true world class driver who could take himself and the car to absolute limit. He was widely regarded as “El Maestro” and his percentage of grand prix wins stands at 46.15% which is still the best. He started 52 grand prix and won 24. NO# 2. Michael Schumacher It really is a toss between Schumacher and Fangio for the greatest driver of all times eventhough Schumacher is the most successful driver of all times with 91 grand prix wins in 303 race starts and he won 7 world titles two more than Fangio. Schumacher started the career with Jordan-Ford back in 1991 belgian grand prix when first team driver Bertrand Gachot got injured. He never looked back after that with disputes of teams fighting to sign him.

He won his first world championship title in 1994 the same year when Aryton Senna died in the crash. After defending his title in 1995 with Benetton Schumacher moved to Ferrari and won 5 back to back titles from 2000 to 2004. No# 3. Aryton Senna The brazilian had raw talent, un-parallel determination and that nasty streak in him which made him fan favourite and probably the most loved F1 driver in the history of sport. He started the career with team toleman in 1984 before moving to Lotus in 1985 where he spent three years. His move to McLaren was highly successful for him and the team where he won three titles in 4 years (1988, 1990 and 1991) McLaren were no longer competitive in final years of Senna contract and he moved to Williams in 1994 but his career was ended when Senna tragically died in 1994 San Marino grand prix accident. But he left behind a legacy which will be hard for any driver to surpass. NO# 4.

Alain Prost Although he won four world titles of his own he was over shadowed by the sheer speed and charisma of Aryton Senna in what is widely regarded as one of the greatest rivalry in not only in Formula 1 but sports in general. If Aryton Senna was charismatic, fearless and probably more talented Prost was more of a poet on circuit with his calculated approach pushed Senna to limits. Looking at the grand prix win percentage tells a different story with Prost having slightly better ratio and if we regard Senna as one of the greatest drivers Prost name has to be alongside him no matter what. NO# 5. Sebastian Vettel Often experts and fans play down achievement of current sport heros compared to the past legends and Vettel is one prime example of such stupidity. He won four back to back titles with Red Bull Renault and became the youngest driver to win the world title. Ferrari signed him up with one of the most expensive contracts in formula 1 history where he was paid around $50 million in his first year of the contract why ? because he is not only talented but he extracted results from that talent as well.

His 2015 Formula 1 season is his first year with Ferrai and although Mercedez cars are clearly faster than the rest he kind of matched them throughout the season and might pip Nico Rosberg in second place with Hamilton is likely to win 2015 world title. Ferrari had issues but Vettel has been pretty good winning three races so far in the season and we safely assume he will come stronger in next season and with age (28) on his side he still has chance to eclipse Fangio’s 5 world title and match Schumacher’s 7 title record.

F1 Drivers | Formula 1 Driver News, Information & Championship Standings Youngest F1 Drivers Champion: Lewis Hamilton – 23 years, 301 days (2008) Oldest F1 Drivers Champion: Juan Manuel Fangio – 46 years, 41 days (1957) Consecutive F1 Drivers Championships: Five – Michael Schumacher (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004) Highest F1 Driver Career Point Tally: 1369 – Michael Schumacher MCLAREN Jenson Button: Button, the youngest Grand Prix driver in Great Britain’s history, started his racing career in karts at the tender age of eight. At ten he became the British Cadet Kart Champion, and won the title the following year once again, dominating the season and winning all 34 races. Button then made his mark on the international karting circle, before making the systematic move to single-seaters where he was an instant success, winning ‘Rookie Of The Year’ in his first season of F1 racing.

Button raced in his first Formula One event in 2000 at the Australian Grand Prix, and won his first Formula One race in 2006 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Button won his first F1 Championship in 2009 with Brawn-Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton: Hamilton, born in Britain on the seventh of January 1985, is the youngest Formula One World Champion ever. Starting his racing career in karting, Hamilton made an impact at an early age, and started his F1 career in 2007 with McLaren. It was in this debut season Hamilton set a variety of records and finished the Championship in second place, just one point behind the Champion, Kimi Räikönen. It was his second season, the 2008 Formula One World Championship, where Hamilton claimed the biggest victory in the sport, becoming the F1 Drivers Champion. MERCEDES GP Michael Schumacher: Considered by many to be the greatest driver in Formula One history, Michael Schumacher has seven Formula One World Driver Championship titles to his name, more than any other driver in the sports history.

Starting his career in karts, Schumacher won his first Formula One race in 1991 at the Belgian Grand Prix, and won his first championship three years later. He retired from F1 racing in 2006, however signed with the Mercedes GP team in 2009, to make a comeback to the sport in 2010. Schumacher is the only driver to have finished 1st, 2nd or 3rd at all races in one season, when he won the 2002 Formula One World Championship. Nico Rosberg: Rosberg from West Germany, has previously raced in the Formula One World Championship for Finland, however now represents Germany due to his dual nationality. The son of Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg (1982), Nico started off in karting, but made the jump to formula racing in 2002 in the German Formula BMW, where he was crowned Champion. Rosberg made his debut appearance in the Formula One World Championship in 2006, when he competed for Williams-Cosworth at the Bahrain Grand Prix, and finished seventh.

It was at this meet Rosberg became the youngest driver to set the fastest lap at just 20 years and 258 days. RED BULL Sebastian Vettel: Sebastian Vettel from Germany, is the youngest driver to ever score points at a Formula One Grand Prix, and the youngest winner of a Formula One race. Starting in karts at the age of 13, Vettel stepped up a gear in 2004 and upgraded to formula racing, winning the German Formula One BMW Championship. He made his debut Formula One World Championship race in 2007 at the United States Grand Prix, and won his first F1 race a year later at the Italian Grand Prix. In 2009, Vettel was runner up to Jenson Button, making him the youngest Formula One World Championship runner up in the sports history. Mark Webber: Originally from Queanbeyan in New South Wales, Mark Webber became the first Australian driver to win a Formula One race since Alan Jones in 1981, when he crossed the line first at the German Grand Prix. Since then he has also won the Brazilian Grand Prix, which he did in 2009, racing for Red Bull.

Webber started off his racing career with motorcycles, before moving onto karting when he was 14-years-old. Webber first raced in the Formula One World Championship in 2002 on his home turf in the Australian Grand Prix with Minardi. FERRARI Felipe Massa: Felipe Massa, born in Brazil on the 25th of April 1981, started his racing career in karts at the age of eight. In 1998 he moved into Formula racing, competing in the Brazilian national championship – the Formula Chevrolet, and finished ninth, however won the title the following year. In 2002, Massa made his debut appearance in the Formula One World Championship at the Australian Grand Prix, and represented the Sauber team. His first win followed four years later when he crossed the line first in the Turkish Grand Prix, and got closest to the drivers elite championship spot in 2008, where he was runner up to the dominating Lewis Hamilton. Fernando Alonso: Alonso, the two-time Formula One World Drivers Champion, was born in Spain in 1981.

He started his driving career in karts and proved himself as a future star winning the junior Spanish championships four times back-to-back. Alonso made his Formula One World Championship debut in 2001 at the Australian Grand Prix with Minardi, and a year later he became part of the Renault team. In 2003, at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Alonso won his first Formula One race, and two years later won his first Formula One World Drivers’ Championship. At the time, Alonso was the youngest ever driver to become champion, but that record was broken in 2008 by Lewis Hamilton. However, having won the F1 Drivers title the following year in 2006, Alonso became the youngest double drivers Champion – a record he still holds. WILLIAMS Rubens Barrichello: Barrichello, born in Sao Paolo in 1972, has been competing in Formula One racing since 1993. His debut race was with Jordan at the South African Grand Prix when he was just 21, and did not manage to win a Formula One race until 2000, at the German Grand Prix.

Barrichello started off in karts, but quickly moved to formula racing, and partnered the esteemed Michael Schumacher between 2000 and 2005 – Schumacher’s peak, with Ferrari. Twice, in 2002 and 2004, he has managed to secure the runner-up position in the drivers’ Championship, however he has never won a title himself, although is considered one of the most experienced drivers on the circuit. Niko Hülkenberg: As with most successful Formula One drivers, Hülkenberg started off his racing career with karts, when he was just 10-years-old. Over the years he has worked his way up the ladder, and can boast being a German Formula BMW Champion, a German A1 Grand Prix Champion and a Formula Three Champion. Born in 1987 in Germany, Hülkenberg is one of only two drivers to win the GP2 series championship in his debut season, the other is the incredible Lewis Hamilton – and with Hülkenberg’s Formula One career just kicking off, that’s not a bad name to be likened to.

His first taste of F1 racing will be with Williams at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix. RENAULT Robert Kubica: Born in 1984 in Poland, Kubica became the first ever Polish driver to compete in the Formula One World Championship in 2006, when he raced in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Starting off racing in karts, Kubica found himself too strong for the competition in Poland, and at the age of 14 moved to the Italian championship, and became the first overseas driver to win the International Italian Junior Karting Championship. After proving himself on the karting track, Kubica stepped up a gear, and became part of Formula Renault in 2001 where he made ties with the Renault Formula One team. Kubica won his first Formula One race in 2008, at the Canadian Grand Prix, where he beat Lewis Hamilton who was dominating the Championship with McLaren-Mercedes. Vitaly Petrov: Coming from Russia, motor racing was a unique choice of hobbies for the young Petrov, considering the nation is not known for top quality motorsport. However, at the ripe-old age of 17, he began driving in the Russian Lada Cup.

Two years later, in 2003 Petrov started driving in Formula Renault and finished fourth in the British Formula Renault Winter Series. The 2010 Formula One World Championship will be the first time Petrov will race in Formula One, and will debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix, which will make him the first ever Russian driver to compete in Formula One World Championship. FORCE INDIA Adrian Sutil: Sutil was born in Germany in 1983, and was destined to become a musician, however found his niche in the motorsport world at the age of 14 with karts. In 2002 he made the leap to Formula racing with Swiss Formula Ford 1800, and made a strong impact after winning all 10 rounds, making his first F1 appearance in 2007 at the Australian Grand Prix. In his debut race, Sutil was driving for Spyker-Ferrari, where he finished 17th – an impressive position with only nine years of racing behind him, only five of which being single-seater.

Vitantonio Liuzzi: As with many drivers, a nine-year-old Liuzzi started his future racing career in karts, and proved an immediate success. Born in 1981 in Italy, he won the Italian Karting Championship in 1993 and the Karting World Championship in 2001. In the same year, Liuzzi moved to single-seater racing in the German Formula Renault Championship, and he finished in an impressive second spot. In 2005, Liuzzi made the big leap to elite Formula One racing, and debuted at the San Marino Grand Prix with Red Bull after much speculation Ferrari would sign him, and finished in a solid eighth spot. TORO ROSSO Sebastien Buemi: Born in Switzerland in 1988, Buemi started racing in karts, but at the age of 16 advanced to the German Formula BMW where he finished third, improving the following year and making the runners-up position. He made his debuted race in the Formula One World Championship in 2009, at the Australian Grand Prix, where he finished in an impressive seventh spot for Toro Rosso.

His start made Buemi the first Swiss F1 driver to take part in the championship since 2005, when Jean-Denis Délétraz drove in the European Grand Prix, for Pacific. Jaime Alguersuari: Alguersuari, the youngest Formula One racing driver in history, was born in Spain in 1990. At the age of eight, he started karting, and after marking his territory in the Spanish circuit he moved onto the European trail. In 2005, Alguersuari moved up in ranks and began his formula racing career, and a year later became the Italian Formula Renault Winter Series Champion. He then moved through the British Formula Three Championship, where he became the youngest Champion, after winning in 2008. Alguersuari made his first appearance in a Formula One race in 2009 for Toro Rosso at the Hungarian Grand Prix. LOTUS Jarno Trulli: Having raced in the Formula One since 1997, Italian driver Trulli has competed for some of the best constructors including Minardi, Jordan, Toyota and Renault over his career.

He was brought up karting, as he came from a motorsport enthused family, and won both the Italian and European kart Championships as a youngster. Trulli quickly made his way up in the motorsport world, winning the German Formula Three Championship in 2006, and debuted in the Formula One Championship a year later. His first race was the 1997 Australian Grand Prix with Minardi and he finished ninth. It was in 2004, at the Monaco Grand Prix that Trulli won his first Grand Prix race, competing for Renault. Heikki Kovalainen: Born in 1981 in Finland, Kovalainen started his motor racing career, as with many others, in karting. Starting at the age of 10, he made his mark on the Finnish scene finishing third in the World Formula Super A Championship, and was elected Finnish Kart Driver of the year. In 2001 Kovalainen began his formula racing campaign, starting off in the British Formula Renault Championship, finishing fourth overall and winning “Rookie of the Year Award”. His first Formula One race was in 2007, at the Australian Grand Prix, and he was racing for Renault.

Kovalainen’s first F1 win came a year later in the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix for McLaren-Mercedes. CAMPOS Bruno Senna: Brazilian Senna was born in 1983, and the 2010 Formula One World Championship will be his first taste of a Formula One race, debuting at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Nephew of Ayrton Senna, the three-time Formula One World Champion, Bruno was always likely to prove a talent in the motorsport arena. At a young age he started karting, but his uncle’s death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix proved a stopper to the young racers career. However ten years later, Senna raced in six meets in the British Formula BMW Series, and proved he was back in business. The 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix will see Senna debut in the Formula One championship where he will race for Campos. US José María López: López, born in 1983 in Argentina, began karting at the young age of seven.

Soon after, in 2001, he moved continents and competed in the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup where he finished 17th. In 2005, López drove in the opening GP2 Series, and finished ninth for the DAMS team. Between 2004 and 2005 López was part of the Renault Driver Development programme and became a test driver for Renault Formula One in 2006. However, the 2010 Formula One World Championship will be López’s first taste of F1 racing, and he will debut at the Bahrain Gran Prix for US. VIRGIN Timo Glock: Born in Germany in 1982, Glock first started racing at the age of 15 and as with many Formula One drivers, found himself initially on the karting track. He quickly made a name for himself winning the BMW ADAC Formula Junior Cup in 2000 and the Formula BMW ADAC Championship a year later. Glock made his first appearance in a Formula One race in 2004, where he competed for Jordan-Ford in the Canadian Grand Prix, and finished seventh.

Winning the two points made Glock one of a select few who have managed to score a point in their debut F1 race. Lucas di Grassi: Di Grassi, born in Sao Paulo in 1984, started his career karting. After competing in local and national series’, he moved onto the international scene and proved himself in 2000, with a fifth place finish in the Formula A World Championship. Three years later, Di Grassi moved into formula racing, competing in the Formula Three Sudamericana and finished in second spot. In 2006 he found himself a part of the GP2 series, and proved himself to the Renault team enough to become a test driver for their Formula One team. Di Grassi will be debuting in his first Formula One race in the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix. Copyright © 2009-2017 Formula One -- Sebastian Vettel clinches another series championship comment SUZUKA, Japan -- Sebastian Vettel added his name to a select list on Sunday, finishing third at the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest of the nine drivers who have won consecutive Formula One titles.

Jenson Button won the race on the Suzuka circuit for his third victory of the season, finishing 1.160 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso after starting on the front row alongside pole-sitter Vettel. Vettel needed just one point to wrap up the title or for Button to not win the race. The 15 points the German earned for third were more than enough to make him the sport's youngest two-title winner at age 24. "We've had a long year, a fantastic year," Vettel said. "Today's race was difficult. We weren't as fast as we wanted to be on the soft tires and it was difficult as we lost two positions but it was a strong result today to win the championships and I want to thank the team." Vettel joins some of the greats of the sport in having won consecutive championships: Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jack Brabham, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher , Mika Hakkinen and Alonso.

The German's voice cracked as he spoke over the radio to team boss Christian Horner on his way back to the pits after the race, but when he got there he was all smiles, running to the outside of the pit wall where he was mobbed by his team in jubilant celebrations. Vettel briefly challenged Alonso for second with 10 laps to go, but didn't want to take any risks knowing he had the championship wrapped up with a third-place finish. He finished 2.006 seconds behind Button. At the start of the race Vettel and Button nearly collided on the run to the first corner. Vettel got a slightly tardy start and cut hard to his right to block Button, who was forced to slow and put wheels on the grass to avoid contact. Button could be heard over his team radio saying "He's (Vettel) got to get a penalty for that," but stewards reviewed the video and elected not to punish the Red Bull driver. After the race, as the top three drivers prepared to walk out on the podium, Button asked Vettel, "didn't you see me at the start?" Vettel said he was within his rights to defend his position because he was ahead, not beside Button.

Vettel said he had no intention of putting Button in danger. "Obviously, as I said, I didn't want to put him in danger," Vettel said. "But I think we have to race each other hard." Vettel held the lead until the second round of pit stops after lap 20 when Button got out ahead, and led Vettel, Alonso and Webber for rest of the race. "This circuit is very special," Button said. "We love this place and it was great to get a win here. I want to thank the team. The improvements that they did to the car were impeccable." Vettel, who won last year's championship in the last race of the year, compared that victory with wrapping up the title with four races remaining. "The funny thing this year is that next week there is the next race so it's a bit difficult to understand," Vettel said. "Last year after the checkered flag it was all over, there was a long period of time when you weren't in the car again so it's a bit different this year." Vettel's home town of Heppenheim became "Vettelheim" for the day as thousands of the driver's fans gathered in front of giant screens to watch the race.

Celebrations were marked by champagne showers, a procession of honking cars, fireworks and 100 liters of free beer, as flag-waving revelers from around Germany joined the town's 25,000 inhabitants. Despite focusing on the eurozone's debt crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel added her congratulations from Berlin. "I'm happy and I congratulate Sebastian Vettel on his win," Merkel said. The ongoing feud between McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Felipe Massa resurfaced in Sunday's race. The drivers made contact at the chicane when Hamilton cut in front of Massa. Minor parts were sent flying as the front tires of both cars made contact. The two had a collision at the Singapore Grand Prix two weeks earlier when Ferrari's Massa lashed out at Hamilton, saying the McLaren driver endangered other drivers with reckless driving. Race officials investigated the incident but no further action was taken. Hamilton finished fifth and Massa seventh, separated by Mercedes' Schumacher. Sauber's Sergio Perez , Renault's Vitaly Petrov and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg rounded out the points positions.

Motor racing-Formula One statistics for Brazilian Grand Prix Motor racing-Formula One statistics for Brazilian Grand Prix Tweet Share Nov 20 (Reuters) - Statistics for Sunday's season-ending Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at Sao Paulo's Interlagos circuit. - Lap distance: 4.309km. Total distance: 305.909km (71 laps) Race lap record: Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia) one minute 11.473. 2004 (Williams) Start time: 1400 local (1600 GMT) 2012 pole: Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 1:12.458 2012 winner: Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren Tyres: Hard (orange), Medium (white) - RECORDS Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel has won 12 races in 2013 and will equal Michael Schumacher's 2004 record of 13 in a single season if he wins at Interlagos. The quadruple world champion will also be the first man to win nine races in a row in a single season.

The only other man to win nine times consecutively was Italian Alberto Ascari over two seasons in 1952-53. - TITLES Vettel won his fourth successive title, becoming the youngest quadruple champion at 26 years old and the first to win his first four crowns in a row, in India last month. The German is only the fourth quadruple champion. Red Bull also won the constructors' crown for the fourth year in a row, becoming only the third team to perform that feat after Ferrari and McLaren. - WINS Vettel's U.S. GP win made him the first driver to win eight races in a row in a single season. Four teams have won the 18 races so far (Lotus, Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes). Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Mercedes's Nico Rosberg have both won twice and Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton once. Vettel has 38 career wins, Alonso 32, Hamilton 22, Raikkonen 20 and McLaren's Jenson Button 15. Ferrari have won 221 races, McLaren 182, Williams 114 and Red Bull 45.

- POLE Vettel has taken eight poles this season, team mate Mark Webber two and Mercedes the rest. - POINTS Caterham and Marussia have yet to score a point after three seasons in F1. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) took his first F1 points in Austin and joined Sauber's Mexican Esteban Gutierrez as the only rookies to have scored this season. - BRAZIL Felipe Massa is the last Brazilian to have won his home grand prix, doing so in 2008 and 2006. Massa has not won any race since his last triumph at Interlagos. Massa is the sole Brazilian driver on the grid at present. Four of the last five titles have been decided at Interlagos. Only four of the drivers who will be on the grid on Sunday have won in Brazil: Massa, Webber, Vettel and Button. The last driver to win from pole position at Interlagos was Massa in 2008. Germany's Nico Hulkenberg started on pole for Williams in 2010, his only pole to date.

- MILESTONES Webber will be starting his last Formula One race before departing for a new career in sportscars. Massa will be saying farewell to Ferrari, the team he has raced for since 2006, before moving to Williams. Formula One will be waving goodbye to the 2.4 litre V8 engine, with a new and smaller 1.6 litre V6 turbo unit with energy recovery systems coming in for 2014. Ferrari stretched their record for most consecutive points finishes to 66 in Austin. The run dates back to the 2010 German Grand Prix. Marussia's Max Chilton chalked up his 18th successive finish, a record for a rookie. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Amlan Chakraborty) Reblog

Question: Name the first Formula 1 driver to win his first three titles consecutively?
Answer: SEBASTIAN VETTEL